LifeCell Untested Tissue Parts
In September 2005, LifeCell Corporation, which sells tissues and blood cell products, discovered that Biomedical Tissue Services (BTS) had made alterations to certain records regarding tissues it was providing to LifeCell. LifeCell Corporation immediately recalled all lots of products that were produced using tissue from Biomedical Tissue Services (BTS) and informed the FDA and all relevant hospitals and medical professionals of the recall.
In February of the next year, the proprietor of Biomedical Tissue Services was the primary target of a 122-count indictment. He and three of his co-workers were accused of stealing body parts from approximately 1,077 cadavers without the permission of relatives. The deceased were harvested from more than 30 funeral homes and their untested tissue parts were sold for profit using forged documents.
The countless cadavers in question were exhumed and examined to ensure the illegal harvesting occured. In some instances, hardware store tubing was used to replace the bones of the deceased. Funeral home operators are accused of accepting cash bribes from Biomedical Tissue Serices in exchange for approving forged death certificates and other conset forms. The illegal, unscreened tissues have been distributed throughout the country and employed in thousands of medical procedures.
Untested body parts were sold for profit by Biomedical Tissue Services from 2001 to 2006. Regeneration Technologies, Inc., Tutogen Medical, Inc., Lost Mountain Tissue Bank, Lifecell Corp. and The Blood & Tissue Center of Central Texas are just some of the major blood and tissue centers involved in the scandal. The FDA and most of the companies mentioned will not disclose how many patients received the untested body parts and tissue.
If you have received LifeCell untested tissue parts while undergoing a medical procedure, you may wish to consider enlisting the help of a personal injury lawyer.
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury, illness or death, that seems to have been someone else's fault, call VanDerGinst Law at 1-866-843-7367 or click here for a FREE online case evaluation. The initial consultation is free of charge. If we agree to handle your injury case, we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if, and when, there is a money recovery for you. In many cases a lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations. So please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.
